FOCUS: THE HIDDEN DRIVER OF EXCELLENCE

BY DANIEL GOLEMAN
B O O K S U M M A RY

The Athletic Brain

How Neuroscience is Revolutionising Sport and
Help you Perform Better

T H E B O OK Thri
Thrive
The Third Metric to Redefining Success and
Creating
Focus: a Happier
The Life of Excellence
Hidden Driver
by Daniel Goleman

Almost a decade after its release, Daniel Goleman’s Focus remains one
of the authoritative texts on focus, attention and their effects.

Focus is an in-depth dive into the tools we can use to navigate an

IN T RODUC TION
increasingly distraction-filled world. Goleman brought decades of
experience as a psychologist and journalist to write his 2013 bestseller,
and it shows.

Using a highly readable blend of scientific research, colourful case

studies and practical techniques, this book will open your mind to new
ways of focusing. You will learn that focus is a multifaceted beast and
that wandering attention can actually be as valuable as laser focus.
More than a lesson in paying attention, Goleman explores how and
when to harness attention and when to let it slip.

Told with compassion and empathy, Focus is an essential read for

anyone who ever wondered why their mind wanders. The lessons
within will teach you some basic tricks to improve your concentration,
while helping you to understand the importance of focusing on the
broader picture.

“Daydreaming incubates creative discovery.”

5 B EST QUOTE S “The antidote for mind-wandering is meta-awareness, attention to

attention itself, as in the ability to notice that you are not noticing what
you should, and correcting your focus. Mindfulness makes this crucial
attention muscle stronger.”

“It’s not the chatter of people around us that is the most powerful
distractor, but rather the chatter of our own minds. Utter
concentration demands these inner voices be stilled. Start to subtract
sevens successively from 100 and, if you keep your focus on the task,
your chatter zone goes quiet.”

“Directing attention toward where it needs to go is a primal task of

leadership.”

“Mindfulness helps especially for those of us for whom every setback,

hurt or disappointment creates endless cascades of rumination.”

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1. AT T EN TION

Attention is a tool that guides human awareness of the world. It is

12 B
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AS complex and works on multiple levels. Some people appear to be
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exceptionally good at focusing, while others struggle. However, it is
always more complicated than it seems.

Attention is like a muscle, in that it needs to be worked out to stay

strong. In the same way you lose muscle mass when you stop going to
the gym, failing to work out your attention skills leads to decline.

A healthy mind needs work!

2. T H E THR E E K I N DS OF AT TE N TION

Goleman boils attention down to a handy triad; inner, other, and outer
focus.

INNE R focus involves intuition and instincts

OT H ER focus is about social interactions
OU T E R focus helps us navigate in the larger world

To enjoy a well-lived life, you need to be nimble in all three.

Fortunately, each type of attention can be taught, managed and
exercised.

3. AT T EN TION DE STROYE RS
WISD OM
WISD OM
Distractions come in two forms; sensory and emotional. It might help
to think of sensory as external and emotional as internal.

Both can derail you in an instant.

Sensory distractions are all the little (or big) things that go on around
you, The couple talking loudly at the next table over, a notification on
your phone, a beeping alarm. While they can be tuned out, such
external stimuli can also quickly derail you from your hard work.

Emotional distractions, on the other hand, come from within. That

sudden realisation that you need to pay a bill, growing feelings of
incompetence, ruminating on an argument with your spouse, a nagging
desire to check your phone. While these things go on inside the mind,
they are just as capable of causing an intense distraction as external
stimuli.

Emotional distractions can be even more insidious than sensory ones.

You can hop up and turn off a buzzing light or move away from a noisy
environment. Wherever you go, though, your emotional distractions
come with you.

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WON DER

4 . TOP- DOWN A N D B OT TOM -UP

The human brain has two ways of thinking, top-down and bottom-up.
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12 B IG I DEAS Bottom-up thinking is, evolutionarily speaking, far older. It is often
called the ‘lizard brain’, and refers to the instinctual and effortless
thoughts you won’t even realise you are having.

Top-down thinking is one of the things that separates humans from the
rest of the animal kingdom. It is the ability to rationalise and think
slowly. To make decisions based on reason and not on pure instinct.

If you hear a rustle in the bushes, pure bottom-up thinking might

convince you to run away. Top-down thinking enables you to deduce
that there are no tigers in the suburbs and go calmly about your day.

Bottom-up thinking can be instrumental during certain activities. The

next time you are walking, analyse every movement and make sure you
are doing it correctly. You will soon struggle. Once you have mastered
a skill, you can often let the bottom-up brain take over. Many athletes
will perform more poorly when asked to think about their pace or
swing. Trying to think about it takes over from the bottom up mind that
already knows how to do it perfectly without you.

Of course, the top-down mind allows for thoughtful decisions and

careful planning. These are skills that also need to be practised in
everyday life.
GI V I NG

5. T H E M I N D A DR I FT

One of the more fascinating facets of attention is that the lack of it can
be massively beneficial. Have you ever been stuck on a problem, only to
have the answer come to you out of the blue during a walk or a shower?
This is the bottom-up mind at work.

A lack of focus opens up new pathways in the brain and often results in
greater creativity than active mental striving. People with ADHD,
whose focus tends to be all over the place, often show greater creative
abilities because they are masters of letting their minds wander.

6 . B R INGI NG I T B ACK

Of course, if your mind is wandering too much of the time, you will
never get anything done. You must know how and when to bring your
mind back on track. Spending too much time trying to force
concentration can result in attention fatigue, which will lead to your
mind wandering when you need to focus.

Goleman advocates giving yourself a break and letting the mind

operate bottom-up for a short while when you start to experience
attention fatigue. A restful setting with minimal external distractions is
the best place to reconstitute and get your mind back on task. Allow
yourself time to breathe and relax before getting back to work.

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WON DER
7. SE L F -AWA R E N E SS

In Focus, Goleman dives into self-awareness. Some people have it in

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12 B IG IDE AS spades, some don’t have so much, and some think they have it but
don’t. Being self-aware is a key step to effective focus.

The best way to know yourself is to see yourself through others' eyes.
It might be a little jarring, but talking to the people who know you best
can help you pinpoint areas where you might need to improve.

8. W IL L POWE R

Another invaluable part of attention is willpower. Anyone who lacks

willpower is unlikely to knuckle down and concentrate when things get
tough. Adults who demonstrated higher levels of willpower when they
were children tend to be more successful and happy in their adult life.

Like attention, you can train willpower. Goleman teaches some simple
tricks to help improve willpower, such as picturing a delicious piece of
cake as a picture in a frame. Little tricks like dissociation can do
wonders for willpower.

9. R E ADI NG OTHE RS

Attention also relates to how we see others. Other people necessarily

take
GI up a considerable part of our focus. People deserve and need your
V I NG
attention. Goleman says that to succeed in life, you need to develop
empathy and manage how you pay attention to other people.

Successful people often know what to say and do by paying attention

to the subtle cues of others. An empathetic boss who pays attention to
her workers will likely have a more productive team. Goleman calls to
mind a doctor who is brusque and dismissive. You will feel far worse
after a consultation with a physician like this than one who takes the
time to express concern for you.

10. T H E B IG PICTUR E

The final facet of improving your attention skills is knowing what you
should pay attention to. All too often in business, for example, attention
is paid to the bottom line and not to the future or the people who make
the business work. Where people focus their attention is key to the
survival of the planet and the human race.

The largest lens for focus is on the whole world. The time for focus that
is self-interested and insular has passed. Goleman dreams of a world
where the world’s attention is all-inclusive and forward-thinking.

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B O O K S U M M A RY
1. L INK YOUR HA B I TS
TA K E CARE OF YOURSELF
Before you can take any action towards managing your focus, you need
3 AC T ION ST EPS to know yourself. It’s impossible to work on issues you aren’t even
aware of. Try to see yourself as others see you, and you will start to
understand where you can improve.

LO OK B EYON D SC REENS
2. F IND STR ATEGI E S
TA K E CARE OF YOURSELF

Mindfulness is one of the best strategies for staying focused. Taking a

3 AC T ION STEP S break from the thing you are trying to focus on is another. Whatever
works for you, try to use your self-awareness to keep yourself on task.

A PPR ECI ATE THE WORLD AROUN D YOU

LOHONE
3. OK BEYON
YOURD FOCUS
SC REEN S

Focus is about paying attention to your work or study, and the world.
Learn what is important around you that deserves your focus and
expand your mind to include others.

A PPR ECI ATE THE WORLD AROUN D YOU

1 KEY TA K EAWAY

Focus is complicated, and there is no one answer when it comes to

improving your ability to pay attention. The key is to know yourself and
harness the right strategies for you.
1 KEY TAK EAWAY
The human brain can do a lot on its own, but there are also times when
you need to be mindfully in the driver’s seat. You might let your brain
take over when you are in flow. But when there are important decisions
to be made, you must take control.

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